Lohan friend sues blogger for defamation

A judged cleared the way Wednesday for a celebrity blogger to be questioned about his report claiming Lindsay Lohan's friend planted cocaine found in the actress's car after a crash.

Yahoo reports that Samantha Ronson sued Perez Hilton for defamation after he repeated a report that first appeared on the Web site CelebrityBabylon.com. As Yahoo News reports: "I am not now and have never been a drug user," Ronson stated in a supplemental declaration filed with the court on Monday. "I have never handled or touched cocaine. I did not ever place any cocaine at any place at any time." According to the lawsuit, both postings defamed Ronson by stating that she had planted drugs that were later found in Lohan's car after it crashed into a tree in Beverly Hills on May 26, and also that she set up her friend to be photographed while drunk. Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle said that Ronson's attorneys can take a four-hour deposition from Hilton.(real name Mario Lavandeira) But Hilton's attorney, Bryan J. Freedman, says that his client made sure the information was "accurate and trustworthy" before he published the report. As Yahoo News reports: "He stands by his actions as being legal and proper and believes that the First Amendment protects him," Freedman said. Ronson now has to prove that even if the report was erroneous, Hilton acted maliciously. That may be a tall order. As Yahoo News reports: "The judge at this point found that they didn't provide any evidence of malice ... so the judge was going to give them one more bite of the apple" by allowing the attorneys to question Hilton, he said. "If Ms. Ronson is attempting to get some sort of relief in court and to show that Mario Lavandeira had any malice, I think she's going to a hardware store for milk. It's just not going to happen," Freedman said. Hilton isn't the only target. Ronson also sued Jill Ishkanian, whose Sunset Photo and News Agency operates CelebrityBabylon.com. But the judge was told on Wednesday that Ishkanian's attorneys have settled their case with Ronson. Ronson's attorney said the case could be dismissed as soon as Thursday. They are going to have a hard time proving that Hilton acted out of malice. The way I see it, unless his blog was solely devoted to her, it can't be done.